When it comes to shopping smart—brick-and-mortar options where you can pick up healthy, fresh, socially-conscious everyday products—there are supermarkets, like Whole Foods, and specialty retailers, like Patagonia Provisions. But what about the all-American neighborhood convenience store?

"Growing up in rural Michigan, my family's place for staples, social catchup, and something special was the Sunoco gas station convenience store up the road," says Rachel Krupa, a food industry veteran—her 8-year-old food and wellness PR firm represents international, national, and regional household names in the epicurean space—and founder of the just-opened retail concept. "I grabbed milk, eggs, toilet paper, or ice cream for my parents who chatted up our dentist by the checkout or filled up outside. I saw neighbors and ran around the aisles. I later learned half the town's names while bagging groceries at Pinny Food Center in town. These spaces shape us—they matter."

While so many of us shop online to stock our pantry shelves with ethically-sourced better-for-you products, the click-to-buy experience can be isolating—"No matter how 'convenient' we want things, we're all instinctively yearning for community," Krupa says. The Goods Mart is a reimagined neighborhood space—designed by Lauren Jordan, the interiors, decor, and community garden designed by landscape architect Terremoto, are constructed from as many recycled materials as possible—that not only sells a carefully curated selection of health-conscious foods and sundries; Krupa's business model also gives back.

The Goods Mart (photo: Wyatt Conlon)

"If given an option to do good, people will," she says. "Using Square at checkout, we’re using the tip function as a way for customers to give to local charities that will rotate each quarter. We’ve also partnered with Lunch on Me, which will move food within 24 hours of expiration from shelves to the hands of those who are homeless."

The Goods Mart (photo: Wyatt Conlon)

All these 'Goods' could come at a premium price, but Krupa says that her primary goal is to serve the surrounding community. To that end, The Goods Mart makes sure to keep things affordable: "We worked hard to offer an amazing 8 oz. coffee for only $1.25, a 12 oz. coffee for $2, and more," she says. "We've balanced accessibility with planet-friendliness—no single-serving plastic bottles will ever hit shelves—and curated the best possible products for a range of budgets. We're offering Kelvin's organic slushies in paper cups, selling up-cycled 'ugly' organic fruits and veggies for less, and always meeting our core standards."